For editing the details of one particular element, ReqSuite® RM provides all required functions in the so-called “editing window” (also denoted as “all-in-one window”). After clicking on the ID of an element in the content table, the editing window is opened with the data of the corresponding element (see Figure 1). While the left part of the editing window displays the input form and notation according to the customization in the underlying project template, the right part contains inbuilt functionality of ReqSuite® RM that is applicable for each element regardless of its category definition.

At the top right of the editing window you can minimize the view, stretch it to the full width, or close all open elements at once. If you have at least two elements open, you also have the option to undock the element and open it in a new browser tab.

In the upper left corner next to the name of the item you can subscribe and unsubscribe to it. If you have subscribed and the item is changed by someone elseyou will receive a corresponding notification.

This right part of the editing window is further sub-diveded into the following areas:

Links

This area displays the direct links that the element has to other elements. Clicking the “Manage…” button opens another window in which you can select elements to be linked and deselect elements that have already been linked (see Figure 2). Furthermore, you will find a graph for doing an impact analysis here. The graph button at the bottom right can be used to automatically optimize the layout of the relationship graph. Moreover, you can filter the view of related elements by categories in the dropdown at the top of the window.

Any change to the links will result in a new version of the element. However, reverting an element to an earlier version will not restore the links as they were at that older time.

Important Note:  ReqSuite® RM only allows a link if a corresponding relationship type is defined in the project template. If no such relationship type is defined between two categories, their elements cannot be linked.

Reuse

Analogous to the reuse functionality in the content table, elements of the same category can also be imported from another project in the link window and subsequently linked.

Comments

The comment area allows writing remarks about the element. Comments that need clarification can be marked accordingly. When an element is placed in a state where explicit ratings are required, users who have the role of a reviewer will find a 5-star rating scale in this area in addition to the generic comment functions. Comments can be created, edited and deleted by clicking the corresponding buttons in this area. However, adding, deleting, or editing comments will not result in a new version of the element.

Versions

In the version area all versions of the element, which by the way are created automatically, are displayed in descending order. When selecting two versions and clicking the “Compare” button, the changes between them will be displayed. In addition to changes of fields in the input form, changes to relationships, attachments and additional properties are also compared. Additionally, the area offers the possibility to restore a specific older version of the element.

Attachments

Multiple attachments can be assigned to each item. Attachments can be either files uploaded from the local device or hyperlinks to any web resource. Attachments can be created, edited and deleted by clicking the corresponding buttons in this area. Any change to the attachments will result in a new version of the element. In particular, resetting an element to an earlier version will also restore the attachments to how they were at that older time.

Source Code Links (optional)

The source code area is displayed only if the project is assigned an interface to an external tool that contains a Git repository. Currently, this applies to TFS/AzureDevOps or GitLab. When displayed, this area shows all Git commits whose description mentions the ID of the element preceded by a #, for example, “#BUG17”.

Additional Properties

The additional properties area shows metadata of the element like the date of the last change, the name of the last editor and allows to set some generic properties like the responsible user, the state (only if a workflow has been defined for the corresponding category) or the deadline. In addition, all attributes of the element that are not included in the input form are displayed here. While changes to these attributes and changes to the state result in a new version of the element, this is not the case for changes to the responsible user or the deadline.

Important Note: For faster editing ReqSuite® RM supports the following keyboard shortcuts:

• ESC:  Close window without saving
• Ctrl + S:  Save
• Page down:  Open next element
• Page up: Open previous element
• Ctrl + L: Open link window
• Ctrl + #: Saves the current item and creates a new item of the same category